Investing.com - The dollar was nursing losses against a basket of the other major currencies on Thursday after falling in the previous session when U.S. President Donald Trump said the currency was too strong.
USD/JPY was at 109.07 after falling to a five-month trough of 108.71 overnight.
In an interview in the Wall Street Journal Trump said Wednesday the U.S. dollar “is getting too strong” and he would prefer the Federal Reserve keep interest rates low.
The dollar has already fallen around 1.8% against the yen this week as geopolitical concerns spurred investors to move money into assets perceived as less risky.
Market sentiment has been hit by a combination of worries over U.S. military action against Syria and North Korea and the narrowing race in the French presidential election.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 100.13 after touching a two-week low of 99.94 overnight.
The euro was a touch lower against the dollar, with EUR/USD dipping 0.1% to 1.0654, after rising to a one-week high of 1.0676 earlier.
Investors remained on edge after French far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who wants a referendum on the country’s European Union membership, surged in the polls ahead of the May presidential election.
Investors have long since been anxious about front runner Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front party, who also wants to put the country’s EU membership to a vote and abandon the euro.
The pound remained higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD up 0.18% at 1.2561, the most since March 28.
The Australian dollar also strengthened, with AUD/USD advancing 0.84% to 0.7586, rebounding from Wednesday’s three-month lows of 0.7472.
The Aussie was boosted by stronger-than-forecast domestic jobs data.